


A Mhaighdean Bhan Uasal

by ExpressAndAdmirable



Series: The Heroes of Light [27]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types, Final Fantasy I
Genre: Backstory, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Parent-Child Relationship, Religious Discussion, Tiefling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 16:55:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13171191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExpressAndAdmirable/pseuds/ExpressAndAdmirable
Summary: Waking up from a nightmare, Aviva goes to her mother for help processing her father's death.





	A Mhaighdean Bhan Uasal

The dream was always the same; only the details differed. Sometimes Esperance drowned, like Zahak did. Sometimes she was blown away by a hurricane, or swept away by landslides, or burned by lava. She could never reach her. She could never save her. She was helpless. Every time, weeping and screaming, she watched her mother die.

Aviva woke in a panic, heart pounding, eyes darting frantically about the darkened room. It took her a moment to remember where she was – in her own bed, in her bedroom, in the little flat above Esperance’s shop. Safe. She pulled the threadbare blanket up to her chin, shivering as the dream replayed in her mind. She rolled over, willing sleep to come, but after a time she huffed and sat up. It was no good. She needed her mother.

Esperance sat at the heavy wooden table in the kitchen, a single candle casting weak, flickering light on the papers scattered before her. She looked tired, a worried frown creasing her brow. She always looked tired. Her quill worked furiously, only pausing long enough to calculate the next line of numbers. The shop was doing well, all things considered, but going from two incomes to one was not something she had ever anticipated. There was much she had not anticipated about widowhood.

A floorboard creaked beneath Aviva’s feet as she padded into the kitchen. Esperance looked up, her startled expression softening into a smile when she saw her daughter. “Hi baby. Can’t sleep?” Aviva shook her head. Esperance lowered her quill, turning in her chair and spreading her arms wide. “Come on.” She helped the little girl clamber into her lap and wrapped her in her arms. “Did you have your nightmare again?” Aviva nodded, her cheek brushing against Esperance’s collarbone. The older woman tightened her arms around her daughter; after two years, she had hoped this phase was over. She kept her voice soft as she began to rock gently. “I’m here, sweet pea. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. I promise. Okay?”

“Okay.” Aviva sounded unconvinced, and she hesitated before continuing. “Mama?”

“Hm?”

“Is Papa okay?”

Esperance sighed. “That’s a big question, V.” And certainly not one she was expecting to tackle tonight. “But… I like to think so, yes. I believe Selen embraced Papa and led him to the afterlife with her. He was a good man, and she can sense the hearts of good people because she loves them very much, so she came to him under the water and took him away.”

“Was he scared?”

“Likely, yes.” She was far from ready for this line of questioning, but she was not about to lie to the child. “Death can be a very scary thing. But there’s peace in it, too. That’s what the gods give us.”

“Why did he have to go?”

“I don’t know, baby. I don’t think there’s ever a reason.” Esperance rested her cheek against Aviva’s forehead. “Sometimes people leave before it’s time. That’s just the way of things. But he knows we loved him, and he’s still in our hearts. Now he’s safe with the Mother. I like to think he fishes for her in the heavens, the way he did for us. What do you think?”

“I miss him.”

Esperance felt a familiar smile creep across her face, melancholy and lost. “And I.”

Another pause. “Mama?”

“Yes?”

“Does Selen love me too?”

Tears stung Esperance’s eyes and she squeezed Aviva tightly. Would their weeping never end? “Yes, baby. She loves you almost as much as I do.”

**Author's Note:**

> Title song from Brave.
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr at @expressandadmirable for a proper table of contents for the Heroes campaign, commissioned character art, text-based roleplay snippets and more!


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